What am I missing here?

[Promethean]

I went riding with a couple of colleagues yesterday and observed this about my riding. When it comes to left sweepers and such, I cross the double yellow a few times. Freaked me out a bit.

Right corners are absolutely no problem. It's the left that bothers me. Perhaps it's a leftover from a couple of years ago when I dropped my old KZ440 on a left uphill switchback. Maybe it's something else.

What needs to be improved to correct this? Any ideas? Bob/Bones/anyone?

[Deans BMW]

The Left in this country bothers me....as well...............

[Road Dog]

Consider the road crown in the corners you are running wide. It can make a big difference. The right handers are almost certainly banked in your favor.

Bill

[Dallara]

I wouldn't worry about it, Abhijeet...

There are very, very few riders in the world that don't turn one way better than the other. For me, it's to the left...

I can go so much faster and smoother in left-handers that it's almost embarassing to me. I think the reason why, in my case, as I sort of *grew up* flat tracking in my early years, and because of that I probably still have about 20 times as many left-hand corners under my belt as I do right-handers. It doesn't hurt that about 75% of all race tracks in the USA run counterclockwise, either, since that always gives them four more corners to the left than to the right.

It's all in what you're comfortable with...

That said, when I was racing moto-cross and road racing I practiced about twice as hard on all the right-handers as I did the lefts, just so I could try and get on an equal footing.

There was even a great quote attributed to Kenny Roberts, Sr. when he first left American dirt tracks and went to Europe to run in road racing GP's. IIRC it was something like "Why do all these tracks over here have all these damn right hand corners? What's wrong with these guys?"

Don't know if it's true, but it always made me chuckle to think of Roberts hating turning to the right, too.

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara - NAABSCD)

[Tipstall]

Abhijeet,

Forget about that NASCAR career.

ken

[DarthRider]

I met Bobby Unser several years ago at Bonneville.
He wanted to get into the "200 MPH Club" (pretty exclusive territory) and hooked up with Jack Roush to build him a gas roadster capable of 200+.
Bobby is a personable guy with a good sense of humor, so I figured I could "get away" with this. After an amiable chat with a couple of us he said he had to go get ready for a qualification run. As he walked away I said, "Hey Bobby...don't turn left!"
He laughed and said he'd try to remember that sage advice!
Roush actually spent several days there "crew chief'ing" the struggling team.
Some of them (not Jack or Bobby) had made the classic Bonneville rooky mistake of announcing how quick & easy they were going to bust 200. I suppose since they had an abundance of "Roush Power" and an Indy champ driving, and "all you have to do" is go straight, it appeared a slam-dunk.
They spent days hunting for traction & stability, making spoilers & winglets from clear plexiglass, etc. Qualifying setups wouldn't work later the same day on the record run. Welcome to Bonneville!
But, being "rookies" only in a technical sense, they got it done finally with a record something like 202-204, as I recall. I know they had a hell of a good time doing it and I'm sure they left with much new-found respect for Land Speed Racing! And Bobby got the "200" decal.
To get into the 2-Club, you not only have to average over 200 with 2 back-to-back runs, you have to set a class record doing it. There are LOTS of guys who have been well over 200 many times who are not in the 2-Club.
The 300 MPH Club is a very small group of elite Land Speed Racers, and the *very small* 400 MPH Club is truly hallowed ground.
Jets & rockets don't count..."taxi'ing airplanes".

Dave

[geechie]

Abhijeet,

It may have something to do with your line of sight being so different in right or lefthanders. I know that from time to time I catch myself turning in too quick on left handers and then pinching the apex. Doesn't seem to happen as much on the right handers.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's easy to look past, or to the inside of the apex going into a lefthander. And then you go where you look.

I wouldn't worry about it either. But I would work on it.

George

[BobFV1]

Abhijeet -

Interesting question. As has already been said, many riders seem to do better with one direction than the other. Teaching the MSF course it seems that a lot of the students make the U-turn to the left and then flub the subsequent turn to the right.

There may well be some physical explanation, but I am not aware of it. I assume it is neurophysiological, or psychological. Left brain versus right brain. And also a matter of perception mixed with experience.

If you are crossing the line in left turns, it is because you are looking down at it. You may well be thinking of the crash you had in a left hander, and then looking down. You may be spooked by the thought of oncoming traffic on your left - it is a scarier proposition to be in a head-on than to run wide! If you look at that line, there is a 99 percent chance you will run over it. Use visual directional control - set up in the turn, and then look all the way through the turn at the exit - get on a good line and don't look down. Keep your eyes level with the horizon.

You will go where you look. Look at the exit, roll on the throttle, stabilize your suspension, and ride through the turn. Have a blast - ride your own ride and don't exceed your skill level.

Hope this helps. See if you can do a track day - helps with the cornering.

Ride safe!

[Wild Will]

always remember you're riding in traffic. Stay to the right side of your lane in case someone is too close to the yellow line; you need a safety margin. It takes years to master these machines. In a right turn stay to the left side of the lane so you'll be able to see as far ahead as possible, but be ready to get over the the right side of your lane if there's something coming close to the middle line or over it in your lane. Read all the books. Practice what the authors have to share. Ask questions and remember that not everybody who answers you knows much more than you do. It's not only about fun, it's also about survival. So always ride with a safety margin, and don't worry if there are others riding with you that are faster than you are. In the immortal words of Ike Turner, "Don' mean shit".
Check your tire pressure every time you ride. Your contact patch is your best friend and guardian angel while you're riding. Take it easy. Practice. Don't worry, be happy.

[kocook]

What Geechie said. Here's my left-hander challenge. You make the call if it matches yours.

In a right hander, my brain tells me that there is gobs of road to the left so I don't mind moving to the left side of my lane for a good delayed-apex turn-in. So no problem.

However, in a left-hander, my brain tells me that I really, really need to turn-in early because I am running out of pavement on the right side of my lane and all the good pavement is to my left. And--it continues--there is debris and other really bad stuff (like a drop-off, ditch, or fence) over there to my right, so I really should take it very easy and hold off on that throttle.

In those instances, as the curve opens up and can see through the turn, I realize that I am not anywhere near being maxed out on lean angle, so I naturally square up the turn. Presto, I am now hugging the yellow line.

My fix is to focus on being more precise in executing turn-in on the point I have chosen for the left-hander and to follow through on the basics of turning (look through the turn, add throttle).

While most of this is purely psychological, the road crown does give less favorable camber (even off-camber in some instances) which tells the brain that there is even less road available--of course, that adds more drama than a real challenge to the physics of the turn.

Can't say I have over-run the center line by fixating on it in a lefty. More likely to happen in a righty for me (failing to look through the turn to the exit).

[R4R&R]

I think this is the best explanation (at least for me):


In a right hander, my brain tells me that there is gobs of road to the left so I don't mind moving to the left side of my lane for a good delayed-apex turn-in. So no problem.

However, in a left-hander, my brain tells me that I really, really need to turn-in early because I am running out of pavement on the right side of my lane and all the good pavement is to my left. And--it continues--there is debris and other really bad stuff (like a drop-off, ditch, or fence) over there to my right, so I really should take it very easy and hold off on that throttle.

[Promethean]

This probably describes what I'm subconsciously thinking. I'm thinking of gravel on the side of the road too....

Thanks gentlemen. Will keep practicing and look for opportunities to take a track day sometime.




What Geechie said. Here's my left-hander challenge. You make the call if it matches yours.

In a right hander, my brain tells me that there is gobs of road to the left so I don't mind moving to the left side of my lane for a good delayed-apex turn-in. So no problem.

However, in a left-hander, my brain tells me that I really, really need to turn-in early because I am running out of pavement on the right side of my lane and all the good pavement is to my left. And--it continues--there is debris and other really bad stuff (like a drop-off, ditch, or fence) over there to my right, so I really should take it very easy and hold off on that throttle.

In those instances, as the curve opens up and can see through the turn, I realize that I am not anywhere near being maxed out on lean angle, so I naturally square up the turn. Presto, I am now hugging the yellow line.

My fix is to focus on being more precise in executing turn-in on the point I have chosen for the left-hander and to follow through on the basics of turning (look through the turn, add throttle).

While most of this is purely psychological, the road crown does give less favorable camber (even off-camber in some instances) which tells the brain that there is even less road available--of course, that adds more drama than a real challenge to the physics of the turn.

Can't say I have over-run the center line by fixating on it in a lefty. More likely to happen in a righty for me (failing to look through the turn to the exit).

[slipknot]

I favor left hand turns too. I noticed that my left testicle hangs lower too. I suspect there lies the answer.

[kocook]

Keep messing with it and you will go blind.